MOG.com plans UK expansion

US-based music service MOG.com could be planning an entry to the UK market, if reports are accurate (see update below). The site, which is rumoured to be taking a round of investment to finance the move, offers both personalised radio like Last.fm and on-demand listening like Spotify does. However, unlike Spotify, it's entirely web-based, like Napster and We7.

MOG started as a platform for music bloggers to publish content about songs they liked, but in December it began to offer a $5-per-month subscription offering for all-you-can-eat music streams. It therefore now has both the social aspects and the on-demand aspects - a situation some would describe as the "best of both worlds".

The company has refused so far to speak about how popular its subscription has been with users, but CEO David Hyman promised PaidContent that a UK offering, if it rolled out, would be "much cheaper" than Spotify's £10/month subscription costs. It's not clear if it would offer mobile listening, however, which would push costs down like We7's Premium service.

The UK market is certainly crowded, though, and it remains to be seen whether MOG can effectively compete. When we hear more about the company's plans, we'll be in a better position to accurately evaluate its chances of success.

Update: MOG has got in touch to clarify a few aspects of the story. The funding round is confirmed, as is the assault on the UK market. The funding totals $9.5 million, and has been led by Balderton Capital and Menlo Ventures. MOG plans to launch MOG All Access in the UK by the end of the second quarter of this year, "with a comprehensive catalog of music of approximately seven million songs", says the company. We're trying to find out if it'll include a mobile app.

Update II: We've got confirmation that some of the cash will be funnelled towards "development of mobile applications", as well as "building partnerships with consumer electronics companies". That strongly suggests we might see hardware vendors like Sonos and Logitech get MOG functionality.